Central Business District in New Orleans in Orleans Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)
Arlene Shechet
Oomph
| | Courtesy of the Artist | |
2020-2025 | New York, NY
Material: Cast bronze, paint
About the Artist:
Arlene Shechet (b. New York) is a multidisciplinary sculptor based in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Known for her gravity-defying forms that seem to bend, tilt, and melt, Shechet creates works that appear to move while standing still revealing the expressive power of material and form.
Oomph has openings, crevices and hollows that call for a closer investigation along the textured surface. This work originated from a hand-built life-size plaster sculpture that was later cast in bronze and then painted. The finished bronze luxuriates in shades of canary, yellow oxide, gold, confetti pink, and a pulsing sky bluer By enveloping Oomph with color, Shechet accentuates and undermines the undulating corporeal form.
Shechet's work has been featured in major exhibitions, including All at Once (2015) at The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, which the New York Times called "some of the most imaginative American sculpture of the past 20 years." Her work is held in prominent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Centre Pompidou, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Shechet is the first artist to return to the Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition. Her work Tall Feather was installed from 2021 to 2024.
Erected by City of New Orleans; The Helis Foundation; Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical year for this entry is 2025.
Location. 29° 56.939′ N, 90° 4.035′ W. Marker is in New Orleans, Louisiana, in Orleans Parish. It is in the Central Business District. It is on Poydras Street west of Tchoupitoulas Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 401 Poydras Street, New Orleans LA 70130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Louisiana’s River Parishes. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, on the Gulf Coast, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Raven Halfmoon (within shouting distance of this marker); Banks Arcade (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Matt Scobey (about 500 feet away); Bienville's Plantation (about 800 feet away); George Dunbar (approx. 0.2 miles away); 114 Magazine Street (approx. 0.2 miles away); Canal Street Historic District (approx. 0.2 miles away); United States Customhouse (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Orleans.
Also see . . . About Arlene Shechet. From her official site (Submitted on April 6, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 5, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 5, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.

